Gospel Reflections for October 26 2014
Religion can become quite complicated at times. I am grateful when someone tries to keep it simple, truthful, and direct. That happens in this Sunday’s Gospel.
A man approaches Jesus and simply asks “What is the greatest commandment of all?” What a great question! The man just wants Jesus to get to the point.
That is useful to know! If we know what is the main thing then we can more effectively organize our life around what is truly important, and not get distracted by details. We can better prioritize the events of our life into what we should pay attention to now and what we can defer to later.
There are a number of people who would like the Church to get to the point about their own circumstances. They know that around 250 bishops and scholars have gathered in Rome to discuss their issues. So, who are these groups?
They are young people who want to cohabit with their partner before marriage. They are divorced Catholics who want to know what is their standing in the Church. They are divorced and remarried Catholics who want receive communion. They are gay Catholics who want to know if they are welcome in the Church in any way, and if they can also marry in the Church. They are also happily married and faithful Catholics who want to know that their vows will be acknowledged and celebrated by the Church.
When Jesus met the woman who was caught in adultery (John 8:1) He looked at her with love but also said, “Go, and sin no more.” Pope Francis wants us to listen with love at the stories of all these groups, look with love at their situations, and also carefully discern and challenge with love those who need to change their lives to do so.
Pope Francis initiated this meeting in Rome in early October to start this discussion. This meeting only surfaced the main groups of people to pray about and the manner in which discussions would be conducted. Nothing more was done at this time.
There will now be a full year of discussion and prayers about all of these issues, and then next October, 2015, there will be a final meeting to come up with recommended resolutions to present to Pope Francis.
Obviously, the press will be all over the place with these issues, and try to shade each issue according to their own bias. Not to worry. You can always check here for authentic updates as I will be in Rome myself next month for a Notre Dame-Vatican conference on these issues.
In the meantime, we want to keep things simple, and stay focused on following Our Lord in every way.
God Bless!
Fr. Dave
Hi Fr. Dave!
Thanks for pointing out that the world hasn’t really changed that much in the last 2000 years. People of all ages have wanted to be certain about what’s always and everywhere essential to do in order to have eternal happiness vs what’s essentially optional.
Unfortunately, the recent synod was often reported as though that line was about to change dramatically making more behavior optional in acknowledgement that the Church was really behind the times. It was very important that you pointed out that this first synod was really nothing more than a necessary organizational meeting for the main event next year.
I trust that Christ’s Church will be His presence throughout the ages……..as He promised. Therefore I know that the final message of next year’s synod will basically be that after full and charitable consideration of all modern views, there are more reasons now than ever before to appreciate that the Church’s doctrines are consistent with the fullness of the Truth. How skilfully that message is handeled may determine whether the Church grows or diminishes in size and significance. Frankly, I’d like someone to whisper in the Pope’s ear that he needs to find and rely on a very holy and sophisticated press agent.
God bless!
Larry,
PS When do you get back to the states?
Yes, I completely agree with your comments. This will be an interesting year in which the Pope seems to signal that he wants the discussion to include, basically, everyone. He also wants it to be very prayerful as well. That is quite a new direction and will need some very clear guidance from him during this coming year. I am confidant all will be well. God bless! Fr. Dave
God bless you with safety, health and happiness on your trip to the Vatican and your fellowship at Notre Dame.
I think that this is a very exciting time that Pope Francis has opened for better communication with persons who are marginalized (and non-marginalized) sexually. It’s like coming out from behind the screen and encountering some issues that have held people apart and from loving one another for ages.
I look forward to the teachings of the Synod, and I hope that good Christians everywhere will hold an open mind against the bias of the Press.
As Father Joe says, “Simpre adalante, nunca atrás”.
Hello!
Yes, this is an exciting time, especially since Pope Francis has apparently decided to let the discussions remain more open than ever before.
God bless!
Fr. Dave
GOOD clarification and assurance that what is going on is “discussion and prayer” on some very difficult issues our church is dealing with at present. We are thankful that we will don’t have to rely on the “press” for clarification of what is happening in the Synod because we know your observation will be true and sound! We are blessed that we have your teachings to guide us and especially to have you as our eyes and ears while you are in Rome!
Hello! Yes, we never want to get our understanding of Church issues from the press! This week I will meet Cardinal Muller at Notre Dame. He is the new Prefect for the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith (CDF). That means he is the chief theologian of the Church. He is here at ND for a conference that I will attend. Although the conference is on world poverty, I am sure he will have some remarks about the Synod, especially perhaps in the smaller meetings that I will get to attend. Stay tuned!
Fr. Dave